Kukla's Korner Hockey

Europe, however, proved to be a completely different proposition. He became interested the minute he heard from Jokerit, soon after Doug Shedden left the Finnish club to take a coaching job in Switzerland.

“I thought Europe would be a real good option,” Hanlon told NHL.com.

But he wasn’t sure his family would agree. Hanlon was at a stage in life where their input was as important, if not more so, than his professional ambition.

“There was a discussion and a lot of it was family driven,” Hanlon said. “We felt a 56-game season and busing to most road games was a good situation. At this stage, we want to be together as a family. So we were ready to give this a try.”